Vendée Globe: Leader deals with damage

(December 14, 2020; Day 37) – Charlie Dalin, leader of the Vendée Globe since November 23, has this evening reported damage to his port foil system. While sailing in the southern Indian Ocean some 900 miles south west of Tasmania at around 1800hrs UTC, Dalin heard a loud noise and immediately slowed the boat to assess the situation, discovering damage to his port foil system.

Dalin did not report any water ingress, and now he and his team are reviewing the level of damage and repair options. If there is any good news, the damage did not occur to the starboard foil which will be heavily relied upon in the Pacific Ocean. Additionally, Dalin has been pushed steadily by Thomas Ruyant who damaged his port foil on November 24.

The damage occurs at a time when the lead pack of Dalin, Yannick Bestaven, and Ruyant now have the potential to open up a meaningful distance on the chasing group as the top trio benefit from fast sailing conditions on the back of a low pressure system.

The leaders should make hay for the next three day benefiting from SW’ly winds of 20-25kts, while the huge Mascaregne high pressure system which is dominating the South Indian Ocean is set to slow the speeds of the next pack – Damien Seguin, Benjamin Dutreux, Jean Le Cam, Louis Burton, and Boris Herrmann – and more especially the sailors just behind them.

Dalin, Bestaven, and Ruyant have the opportunity to make a definitive break as they enter the Pacific Ocean where, traditionally, a longer, more even swell should welcome them.

As they approach the midpoint of the race, the leaders are now more than six days behind the race record but the group at the back of the fleet are more than one day ahead of the 2016 race pace of the equivalent group, confirming the race is more compact from front to back than on the last edition.

Ranking – 21:00 (GMT)*
1. Charlie DALIN, APIVIA – 12795.1 nm DTF
2. Yannick BESTAVEN, Maître CoQ IV – 42.04 nm DTL
3. Thomas RUYANT, LinkedOut – 53.75 nm DTL**
4. Damien SEGUIN, GROUPE APICIL – 336.27 nm DTL
5. Benjamin DUTREUX, OMIA – WATER FAMILY – 336.72 nm DTL
DTF – Distance to Finish; DTF – Distance to Lead

* Four skippers assisted in the rescue of Kevin Escoffier which began on Nov. 30. Their ranking order that day as of 14:00 was Escoffier (3rd), Jean Le Cam (4th), Yannick Bestaven (6th), Sébastien Simon (7th), and Boris Herrmann (8th). The Race Jury will now determine the credit for each skipper to reestablish their ranking in the race and reveal their decision on December 16, 2020.

** Ruyant damaged port foil on Nov. 24 at 02:00.

Race details – Boat types – Tracker – Ranking – YouTube

The Vendée Globe is the only sailing race round the world that’s solo, non-stop, and without assistance, and it was all systems go for the 9th edition on November 8. Beginning in 1989 with 13 entries, and held every four years, the start line in 2020 had 33 skippers taking off from Les Sables d’Olonne, France.

The development of the IMOCA Class toward foiling will see these boats hurl themselves around the world, teetering on carbon skates through inhospitable regions, chasing the record set in 2016-17 by Armel le Cléac’h of 74:03:35:46.

2020-21 Attrition
Nov. 16, 2020 – Nicolas TROUSSEL, CORUM L’EPARGNE – dismasted
Nov. 28, 2020 – Alex THOMSON, HUGO BOSS – rudder damage
Nov. 30, 2020 – Kevin ESCOFFIER, PRB – hull damage (sunk)
Dec. 4, 2020 – Sébastien SIMON, ARKEA PAPREC – foil damage
Dec. 5, 2020 – Sam DAVIES, Initiatives-Cœur – keel damage (collision)
Dec. 11, 2020 – Fabrice AMEDEO, NEWREST – ART & FENÊTRES – computer failure

Participation history:
1989-90: 13 boats at the start
1992-93: 15 boats
1996-97: 15 boats
2000-01: 24 boats
2004-05: 20 boats
2008-2009: 30 boats
2012-2013: 20 boats
2016-2017: 29 boats
2020-2021: 33 boats

2020-21 Entries
Fabrice AMEDEO: NEWREST – ART & FENÊTRES
Romain ATTANASIO: PURE – BEST WESTERN
Alexia BARRIER: TSE – 4MYPLANET
Yannick BESTAVEN: MAÎTRE COQ IV
Jérémie BEYOU: CHARAL
Arnaud BOISSIÈRES: LA MIE CÂLINE – ARTISANS ARTIPÔLE
Louis BURTON: BUREAU VALLÉE 2
Didac COSTA: ONE PLANET ONE OCEAN
Manuel COUSIN: GROUPE SÉTIN
Clarisse CREMER: BANQUE POPULAIRE X
Charlie DALIN: APIVIA
Samantha DAVIES: INITIATIVES-CŒUR
Sébastien DESTREMAU: MERCI
Benjamin DUTREUX: OMIA – WATER FAMILY
Kevin ESCOFFIER: PRB
Clément GIRAUD: COMPAGNIE DU LIT / JILITI
Pip HARE: MEDALLIA
Boris HERRMANN: SEA EXPLORER – YACHT CLUB DE MONACO
Ari HUUSELA: STARK
Isabelle JOSCHKE: MACSF
Jean LE CAM: YES WE CAM !
Stéphane LE DIRAISON: TIME FOR OCEANS
Miranda MERRON: CAMPAGNE DE FRANCE
Giancarlo PEDOTE: PRYSMIAN GROUP
Alan ROURA: LA FABRIQUE
Thomas RUYANT: LINKEDOUT
Damien SEGUIN: GROUPE APICIL
Kojiro SHIRAISHI: DMG MORI
Sébastien SIMON: ARKEA – PAPREC
Maxime SOREL: V AND B – MAYENNE
Alex THOMSON: HUGO BOSS
Armel TRIPON: L’OCCITANE EN PROVENCE
Nicolas TROUSSEL: CORUM L’ÉPARGNE

Source: Vendée Globe